Too Late
by Airwalk55
Summary: His evil chuckle rings through the air. The grass stained with innocent, pure blood. A yellow bag sits shredded against a tree. Broken arrows litter the clearing. A shattered bow lies on the grass. The coppery tang of blood hangs heavy in the air. onesho


A/N: I do not own Inuyasha. I was feeling morbid and melancholy today. Don't kill me because it's not a happy ending. It's bitter and sorrow filled. I don't know why I'm sad. But this story I dedicate to my best friend Kei-chan (Firestorm777) for no real reason other than I feel like it. This is my eighth fic. If you can, check out my others. I don't seem to be getting much of a response.  
  
Too Late  
  
His evil chuckle rings through the air. The grass stained with innocent, pure blood. A yellow bag sits shredded against a tree. Broken arrows litter the clearing. A shattered bow lies on the grass. The coppery tang of blood hangs heavy in the air. Through the evil laughter, a light wheezing can be heard.  
  
Naraku leaves. His goal achieved. The one being who could utterly destroy him would be gone in a few minutes. He leaves with a happy grin on his face.  
  
  
  
Happy whistling of a carefree child. His adoptive mother is dying, but he knows not yet. Bouncing merrily, playing with a ball his mother gave him. Sucking on a sugary lollipop, the last he would ever have. A chocolate bar sticking out from his little pocket. His bushy little tail wagging happily, in anticipation of his mothers return with the dog-eared idiot. Innocent. Unsuspecting.  
  
Diligently polishing her big boomerang. Thinking how her best friend would return soon so they could take a bath. Humming a cheery tune. The fire cat sitting beside her, tail swaying. A relaxed taijiya sitting there. Awaiting her best friend. Smiling. Not knowing.  
  
Gazing at the taijiya with care. Eyes twinkling. Waiting for the lovely, kind girl to return. Patiently waiting. Looking at his hand and staff. Looking at Sango. Two of his best friends. Grinning. Peaceful.  
  
  
  
~~~~~In Present day.~~~~  
  
Souta eats cookies in the kitchen. Happy. His sister's coming back in a couple of days. He'd see his Kagome onee-chan and maybe Inu-no-oniichan again.  
  
A mother washing dishes. Sighing. So many torn clothes to be mended and cleaned. As long as her daughter was happy there, she'd continue to help out where she can. A mother, so glad that Inuyasha is with her only daughter to protect her. No need to worry.  
  
Ji-chan. Concocting a new method to try and rid of the demon called Inuyasha. His ancestors were powerful. How come his chants, etc. didn't work? Humph. Trying harder. Smiling at the thought of his granddaughter. Grinning at the thought of her reaction to his newly thought of diseases.  
  
~~~~Back to feudal Japan~~~~  
  
Sun shining brightly. Clouds creep forward. The sky dark. Everyone looks up into the sky. The sudden change in light is disturbing. Something is wrong. Where is their friend? Where is the dog-eared hanyou?  
  
They get up and look around. Calling for their friend. Worried. Searching. Setting out to look for them. No foreboding feeling of a youkai like Naraku nearby. Where is Kagome? Inuyasha? Riding on Kirara. Looking. Searching. Frowns replace smiles. Worry heavy in their hearts. Wait. Don't worry. Kagome's probably with Inuyasha. She's safe. Still trying to find her. Shippou and Kirara smell blood. Whose? Where? They land in a clearing. Broken arrows. Broken bow. Broken body. Green cloth fluttering in the wind. A torn yellow backpack strap flies away, a silent goodbye. Four figures falling down beside their friend. A kitsune, a fire cat, a houshi, a taijiya. Weapons discarded without thought. Leaning closer to their friend. Tears falling. Blood everywhere. Little orange paws caressing black tresses. Whimpering, "Okaa-san. Wake up. Wake up. Please don't leave me. Okaa-san." (Okay. I'm the author and as I'm writing this, I am crying right now and a pain is in my chest. ~.~) A hand, usually perverted, holds a hand. "Lady Kagome. What has happened? Don't leave. You can't. We need you." Two small hands folded on her lap, tears flowing. "Kagome. Please. You're my best friend. Don't leave me. Kagome." Two tails hang limp as the fire cat whimpers and rubs her head against Kagome. Tears cling to her cream colored fur. Small child eyes trying to access the damage to his mother and ignore it. In denial. "Okaa-san. Stop playing. Wake up. I promise I'll be good from now on."   
  
Wheezing breaths rattling in her lungs. Hearing her friends' pleas. Hanging on. One voice is missing. The one she loves. The one who loves another. Eyes opening a bit. Glassy and clouding. Tears coming out. Pained whisper, "My friends. I'm sorry. I cannot help you with Naraku. He said…" Pained coughing. "…that I am the only one who could have killed him…so I had to go…I'm sorry I couldn't help you guys…I'm sorry I'm so weak." She coughs some more. Blood dribbles from her mouth and tears pool around her. Tears of her own and tears of her friends. "Tell Inuyasha that I am sorry…that I got in his way…that I hindered his search for the jewel and his path to Kikyou. Tell him I am truly sorry and for him to forgive me. Please. Tell him." Her eyes closed as she shuddered in pain. She was hanging on. "MAAMAAA! Don't leave me!" Shippou shouted suddenly.  
  
Flashback.  
  
Kagome walked into the forest, leaving Shippou playing with the ball, Sango polishing her weapon, and Miroku grinning pervertedly at Sango. Inuyasha was missing and could be in trouble. Kagome looked through the forest. She reached to Goshinboku and looked for him. He wasn't there. Then she saw him. He was with Kikyou. They embraced. He knew she was there. He turned to her and said, "I'm sorry Kagome. I cannot love you. I already love Kikyou, and after I kill Naraku to avenge her, I will go to hell with her. I'm sorry Kagome."  
  
Kagome was shocked. Tears ran down her face. She had nowhere to turn. Dashing from the spot, she fled. Her heart shattering. After a while, she slowed to a walk. He loves her. I'll let him go with her. I shouldn't be blocking his happiness for my own selfishness. I'll go tell him so he won't feel guilty or anything. As she began to turn, she met with Naraku. He laughed maliciously at her.  
  
"Miko. You are the one thing on this earth that can destroy me if you are trained. Kukuku. Inuyasha is foolish. He thinks I am after Kikyou and himself, but he is wrong. He thinks he can kill me, but he cannot. Once you are dead, I will be invincible! Kukuku." Kagome's arrows bounced off his barrier. He grew roots and shot them at Kagome. Alone, Kagome battled Naraku. Her arrows of no use and unable to use her untrained powers, Kagome fell to Naraku's strength. Calling out to the only one who could hear her, she received no help. Her savior no longer protected her, but stayed with his clay pot. Her other friends could not hear her.  
  
End Flashback.  
  
Inuyasha lifts his head from her cold shoulder. He thought he had heard Shippou call out for Kagome. Was the little kit having nightmares again? How had the sky suddenly turned dark? He pushes away from Kikyou. Saying a quick goodbye, he races toward the kitsune's scent. Arriving, he finds his friends leaning over someone. The scent of blood is everywhere.  
  
Shippou whimpers and cries. He is losing his mother for the second time. Dread lies heavily in the pit of Inuyasha's stomach. His sensitive ears pick up a soft pained voice.  
  
"Shippou-chan, my son, remember that I'll always love you. I'll always be there for you. Don't cry my son. My friends, don't grieve. Please tell my family what has become of me. Tell them not to grieve but to remember. Remember the fun we had. Remember the happy times. I am parting from this world, but I'll never leave you guys. Please don't cry Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kirara. I love you all. Take care of each other. Can you do me another favor my friends?" Kagome asked in a whisper, her life draining. Her friends nodded, unable to speak.  
  
"Don't let Inuyasha blame himself. Let him seek Kikyou and help him find joy with her. He loves her. Take care of Inuyasha for me. He needs you guys. Remember, I…will…always be…with…you." Kagome's last words brush past her lips as she takes her last breath. Her heart slows and stops. No birds chirp, they mourn. The rain begins to pour around them, as if grieving her death. The area around Kagome doesn't rain. A circle of dry air encircles her and her friends, although their tears make up for the rain. Sobs wrack Sango's body as she weeps for her friend. Miroku's hands clutch Kagome's hand as if trying to revive her. Shippou wails, burying his face into Kagome's still bosom. "Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" His repeated muffled calls do not bring Kagome back. His mother is dead. Their kind, giving, unselfish, courageous, and strong friend is dead. Naraku has killed her.  
  
Inuyasha kneels in the back. It's all my fault. I told her that I loved Kikyou. She ran and ran into Naraku. Now she is dead. My Kagome is dead. I'll never see her beautiful brown eyes again. I'll never hear her melodious voice. Her scent will be replaced by one of death. My love, what have I done? I wasn't there to protect her. She's dead. Inuyasha howled in anguish. Somewhere among the wolves, the leader hears the call and knows that she is dead. Somewhere in the Western Lands, the taiyoukai hears and knows of the death of his brothers' wench. Somewhere in a dark hidden castle, Naraku grins evilly, knowing that the only one who could have destroyed him is gone.  
  
No trees. No grass. No sound of Inuyasha's pain. No wet rain seeping into the grass. (No rain on them because the sky weeps for Kagome, but does not rain on her.) No feeling of the wetness on their cheeks. Four friends. Their world crumbing. The only thing they feel is their pain. Their grief. The death of the pure, the gentle, Kagome.  
  
Inuyasha comes closer toward the girl he loves and his friends. They part to allow him in this sad circle. He gazes at the girl he truly loves. Her hair is fanned out above her. Blood soaks the area around her. Tears. Long lashes tinged with tears. Torn clothes, broken body. Angelic, ethereal. Pale faced beauty. Innocent. Pure. Their movements are robotic, stiff. Shippou still clings to his mother, unable to accept her death. Miroku still clings to her hand. Sango sits like a statue, unmoving. Only the tears falling from her eyes show that she is alive. Kirara cries. Inuyasha gazes at her. Too late. He was too late. Always too late. Unable to save her. Unable to save his love. Tears. Blood. Rain. A breeze. A voice. A voice? Their heads lift. A whisper. Gentle whisper. Among the winds. Each hearing differently.  
  
"Live for me Inuyasha. I love you."  
  
"I'll never leave you Shippou, my son. Don't cry.  
  
"My best friend, my sister. Don't mourn my death.  
  
"My best friend. Miroku. Take care of yourself."  
  
"Kirara. Don't let Sango do anything stupid."  
  
"My friends, I love you all. Live happily for me. Help each other. Stick together. I will always be with you."  
  
Kagome's voice drifted off, leaving them stunned. Miroku suddenly unclasped his hand from Kagome's. In her hand was a piece of paper. He drew it from her palm and read it unsteadily.  
  
My friends, my family,  
  
Naraku is dead. He did not realize that the Shikon-no-tama is not the same. I have just realized this. He thought he had gotten away with my death, but he did not. At the moment of my death, all the jewel shards gathered to Naraku. His impurity set free the souls within the jewel. Parts of the jewel, having been purified so thoroughly by being with me, reacted when brought together with the rest. The demons within the jewel were killed by these shards because they were too pure to be used by the demons. Midoriko's soul was what was left. She killed Naraku. Miroku, you can now be rid of the curse. Sango, your brother is out there, alive and well. Inuyasha, Kikyou is now really alive. Shippou, I am sorry I could not stay with you, but remember that I will always love you and be with you.  
  
Please tell my family in the future. You are my family of feudal Japan. Please don't mourn. Take care of each other.  
  
Kagome  
  
The note dropped from Miroku's hands and fluttered into the wind. Their tears could not be sated by Kagome's farewell. Kagome's presence lingered with them, but she was not there.  
  
A mother gone forever. A best friend dead. Too late to tell her of his love. Too late to save her. Never see her face, never hear her voice. Gone.  
  
A/N: I was thinking of making her just die without all the voice in the wind stuff. I began this story really sad for some reason but by the time I got to the end, I didn't want to just have her die without a goodbye and Naraku still alive. Please review! 


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